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a browser like the IE, Firefox or Chrome.

(vi) Emailing and instant messaging.

(vii) Downloading and uploading files.

(viii) Scanning and Printing digital documents.

(ix) Burning CD or DVD

All the above skills are essential for online and offline learning. For example, an adult learner should know how to download lecture notes and other reference materials from the Internet. He or she also should know how to communicate with his or her lecturer through emails or instant messaging. Besides, the adult learner should know how to do the assignments using a word processor or a spreadsheet, and upload them to the lecturer for assessment. Scanning and printing documents are also important skills in academic studies today, because while most of the documents are in digital form, most of the colleges or universities still require students to submit assignments in printed form, particularly the final thesis or dissertation.

Mastering the ICT skills is not difficult, but it is not easy either. So how should an adult who is going back to school or college to study again prepare himself or herself in terms of computer skills? From my own experience, I think the most important ingredient is to have a positive attitude in learning new skills, including computer knowledge. I have gone back to universities to study for my master degree at the age of 43 and later PHD at the age of 47. Both programs required considerable ICT skills and knowledge. From searching for online journals, conducting online survey to analysis of data using statistical software such as SPSS is not for the faint hearted people. I would not have pulled through with flying colours if I have not made efforts earlier in learning computer skills.

I started learning computer at the age of about 37 years old, back in 1994, where the Internet was just picking up its momentum. In the beginning, I had computer phobia not unlike most people who are starting to learn computer. However, I was willing to ASK questions whenever I encounter problems. I was not afraid to learn from people much younger than me, even from my students. I might be a teacher but in terms of computer knowledge the students are my teachers. Over a period of about five years I have learned how to assemble a PC, handle words processing, creating web site, doing Visual Basic programming, database management, multimedia presentation and even written a book on computer programming. And those efforts paid off. Now, my computer knowledge is comparable to most youngsters, if not better, and certainly it has helped me a lot in achieving the pinnacle in my academic studies.

In a nutshell, computer literacy is crucial in adult education, as the education sector has increasingly integrated ICT in delivering courses, either off-line or online. With many libraries going online and the emergence of blogging, the Internet has become a huge repository of knowledge and information, and you must be computer literate to access those knowledge and information. This is especially true for adults who are going back to college to study; you need ICT skills to conduct online research, because most likely you have no access to a physical library. And the amount of scholarly articles is more abundant in the Internet than a physical library, and it is much easier to search for the articles too. So, my advice to those friends who are going to study again, invest some time and money in learning computer skills before registering for an academic program, it will pay off later.

Learn more about this author, Dr.Liew.
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